« A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity,
an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty ».
Winston Churchill
“Between possible and impossible, two letters and a state of mind,” said Charles de Gaulle. Recently, especially since the mobilizations for the climate and even more since the unprecedented global health crisis at the start of the year, we are, more than ever, confronted with our climate responsibility. If the challenge is titanic in a context more than ever singular, we all have our card to play. You still have to accept it and want it. According to Idriss Aberkane, researcher (Polytechnique) and lecturer (Centrale-Supélec) “Every revolution goes through three phases: before being considered obvious, it is considered ridiculous, then dangerous.” What stage of this revolution are we in?
"Nature has well over 4 billion years of R&D behind it".
Humanity recently discovered uplifting satellite images released by NASA and the European Space Agency. They showed a significant drop in the levels of nitrogen dioxide, a very polluting irritant gas, emitted by factories, vehicles and power stations running on fossil fuels (coal, petroleum). According to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (based in Finland), the Covid-19 epidemic would have reduced Chinese CO2 emissions by 25% in February 2020 (usually corresponding to the resumption of economic activity in the country, after the New Year holidays, or 200 million tons of greenhouse gases). Last year, China emitted 800 million tonnes of CO2 over the same period. Paris observed around the fortieth day of confinement a 30% drop in pollution.
Resulting from a societal choice we made, this pandemic is indicative of failure. But this awareness of our weaknesses is also a strength, an opportunity. It is by recognizing that we are dependent on each other, responsible and humble that we will broaden our horizons. Idriss Aberkane recalls "Nature has well over 4 billion years of R&D behind it (...). It is inherently nanotechnological. It is also gigantic if you consider that the stars are alive - hence cognitive, which they are, more than likely, on a scale that escapes us. " Over the centuries, humanity has been driven by the desire to prove its strength, its importance. From now on, proposing another model of society must be compatible with nature “You must not create waves, you must be a surfer”, explains Gunter Pauli, writer, speaker, specialist and promoter of the blue economy.
For the French navigator Romain Pilliard (Tour de France à la voile, Solitaire du Figaro in 2000 and 2001, 4th in the Ultimate category at the Route du Rhum 2018), fervent defender of the circular economy, it is everyone's responsibility today: “It's a huge subject. In fact, it is an individual demand that must be created. There should be transformations on demand.”
Acting to impact: initiatives that mark
There are countless avenues for reflection and initiatives to move towards a carbon-free world. It is Open Food France, which makes it possible to buy products in short circuits and which provides home deliveries. It is Le Petit Carré Français, which designs and markets washable cleansing wipes, exclusively produced in France. Hopaal offers a recycled range (T-shirts, swimsuits, etc.) from textile fibers and marine litter. This is the special report of the High Council for the Climate published on April 21 (an independent body created in 2019 and made up of climate and energy transition experts), which proposes massive investments in the thermal renovation of housing and railways. , to favor a smoother transport. It is Grenoble, Lille, and many others, which offer more local, organic and vegetarian products in the canteens of their schools.
The SeaCleaners association created the Manta, a revolutionary offshore vessel capable of collecting and continuously processing large quantities of plastic macro-waste floating on the surface of the oceans. It is again the American company Sharklet, which, in an innovative biomimetic approach, created an antibacterial surface produced in the form of stickers applied to the doors and handles of hospitals and clinics, thus taking inspiration from shark skin ( insensitive to organic attacks). It is also the GoodPlanet Foundation (created in Paris as an extension of the artistic work of commitment to the environment of photo reporter Yann Arthus-Bertrand), which makes education a leitmotif by offering numerous awareness-raising workshops with the general public and schools ...
Acting also requires humility: learning and educating differently, becoming aware of the world around us and understanding that we are a whole. It may be there, the key.
In order to illustrate its point, BaseX chooses to begin its cycle of interviews, as of next week, with Alain Renaudin, Founder of Biomim'expo, President of NewCorp Conseil, whose innovative work is guided by the discipline of biomimetics. He will explain to us how much man owes to nature and will share with us his vision of the responsibilities incumbent on each of us.
Alexandra Corsi Chopin